⭐️ Happy, Joyful and Abundant New Year! ⭐️ It’s a bit late so I hope you had a very good start of the year.

We celebrated New Years Eve quietly together with Rubio as we didn’t want to leave him alone at New Year’s Eve with all the fire works outside. Rubio was not impressed by the noise or light this year fortunately. In december I started opening my samples from the Advent Calendar but I didn’t like it as much as the 4160 Tuesdays Advent Calendar several years ago as I knew this time which samples were included. But I loved some perfumes and might review them. Those who follow me on Instagram were able to see which samples I tested. I wanted to photograph the samples each day for Instagram but it turned out it was not always possible due to time, light or energy.

In the aftermath of the Christmas holiday I want to share how my ginger cat Rubio came to stay with me as I adopted him from Spain. Rubio has been with me for 6 years and came to stay with me in a very special and surprising way. Six years ago I was longing to have a cat again after having lost my 20 year old cat Philippe 6 months before. But where to start? I started looking on our Dutch ebay Marktplaats and after a few days I saw Rubio in an ad as a kitten. He looked absolutely stunning. The ad said he had been adopted from Almería, Southern Spain which made him even more interesting as my mother was from Southern Spain. The young Spanish woman Marina, who had brought him to Amsterdam, adopted him from a Cat Asylum in Almería and brought Rubio with other kittens by plane on her own. Rubio had been found on the streets in Almería with his little brother and sister.

As luck or fate had it, Marina turned out to live very near my home. I went to see Rubio or so I thought. When I visited Marina I stayed for over an hour and only got to see a glimpse of little Rubio as he hided under a bed. Returning home disappointed I wondered what to do. Marina explained he was a very friendly and lovely cat. As she lived nearby she offered to bring him to me so he could stay with me for a day and decide later. At my home he came to see me very quickly and fully trusting. Had Marina not brought him to me I wonder what I had done. Peter my fiance urged me to give Rubio a chance so this helped as well. As it turns out Rubio is scared for people he doesn’t know. When the door bell rings he hides so people visiting mostly get to see him on photographs. As a kitten something must have happened to him to become so scared of people and children as well. On his own he is a very friendly cat who likes to be around you with a very strong and outspoken character.

Rubio seeing snow as a kitten and a few years later

Before Rubio I adopted another much older cat called Philippe (or Felipe) from the Poezenboot. The Poezenboot is a cat asylum in a boat on a canal in Amsterdam. From time to time I visit their website to see which cats they have for adoptions. But having Rubio is enough, he likes to have a lot of attention so I will not be getting another cat soon. But if you are thinking about taking a cat and live nearby Amsterdam, have a look at their website. Don’t shop but adopt a cat if you can. He or she will thank you for it. Rubio has helped me get through hard times and is always there for me as a wonderful companion. I am very happy he found his way to me from the streets of Almeria to Amsterdam and I was able to help him and give him a good life as well.

Do you have a cat? Or dog or other pet? How did it find its way to you?

What a beautiful cat! I’m glad that you found each other: it’s great when adopted pets find loving homes, especially when they had a rough start (though, I must say that Rusty is afraid of different service people and kids – even though we got him very early in his life, I don’t think he saw anything but shelter before then, and I doubt anyone had abused him).
I wish I had known about Rubio earlier to be able to “invite” him to Rusty’s birthday post.

He is beautiful, Undina. Rubio would have liked to be invited, although he is a bit shy with other cats and pets 😉 maybe at another Rusty’s celebration. Happy belated birthday 😺 I loved reading how Rusty got into your life and see his photographs on your website. It is intriguing to see how pets find their way into our lives.

Dearest Esperanza, your Spanish heritage explains your beautiful name! You and I are on the same page when it comes to cats. My life wouldn’t be complete without mine ( and how did I end up with three?) I really loved reading your story about how you and Rubio found each other. I absolutely love the idea of a cat sanctuary on a boat! My imagination ran wild. My dream home.

As you know, I have ginger boys cats and a small black female cat. All are rescues cats from local cat charities. We adopted the two ginger boys as kittens. We’d never met them and ended up getting two as they were brothers and we didn’t want to separate them (not that they’re exactly close now) I was initially worried we wouldn’t be able to tell them aprt but I couldn’t have been more wrong. They have different personalities, voices,ways of moving, markings and even different tails- Ian is like a Lemur!

Like you, cats have offered me so much comfort in difficult times, without even trying to. There is something so therapeutic about a purring cat on your lap, or in your bed, or on your shoes, or in the laundry basket.

Thank you for sharing your story about Rubio. He is a beautiful boy and he clearly found exactly the right human.
love Sam xxxx

Dear Sam, lovely to read how your ginger cats found their way into your life as well. I didn’t know you got them from a cat charity. You are right there is something very therapeutic about a cat on your legs and lying next to you. Fortunately Rubio loves to do that and your ginger cats as well. I kind of expected you to like the cat charity on a boat. Love Esperanza 😘😘

Hi Esperanza, as you know I am a catwoman also. Me and my husband bought our first cat Jeroen ( lavender Eastern shorthair) from a friend who was a single lady at the time. Because of work she had her kittens and their mother in a bedroom during the day and they only were in the rest of the house in the evening. She did not want the kittens to ruin her house as our cats do to our couch etc. Turned out that Jeroen was also very committed to us but certainly not to strangers.
After a year we had the opportunity to get a female foreign blue shorthair kitten (Chanel) and Jeroen and she lived as very close friends for 14 years. They had to be put to sleep three months after one another. By that time we got a British shorthair called Charly frome the same friend as Jeroen and Charly was almost 20 years with us. Then a red shorthair came (Polo), Then Kyra (Burmese lady), Floris (our first Siamese) ,Saartje (from a cat refuge) , Daan (eastern shorthair), Kenzo (black eastern shorthair) and our latest male also Siamese called Youp. The reason we always had eastern shorthairs , a Burmese and two Siamese is because we absolutely adore their caracters. If you don’t want to walk a dog, take a Siamese or eastern shorthair;) Saartje is the only exeption to our rule. She is a tortie and very much connected to me. She does not like my husband and that is mutual. She is now 12 years of age and has exepted Youp after nearly 4 months! But she is the boss, haha.

Hi Mary, absolutely loved reading how all your cats came to your and your husbands life. I didn’t know you have had so many! What do you like about the characters of Eastern Short Hair? Good thing the feeling is mutual between your husband and Saartje!

Siamese and eastern shorthair are very much a like. The difference is the colour of their eyes. Siamese have blue eyes and their collegues the eastern shorthair green eyes. They both are very attached to the persons they live with. very smart, they bring back toys after your throw them away and they talk to you. They use their voices to communicate more than other cats I know.